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And then there were none
Info And then there were none is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 6, 1939 under the title of Ten Little Niggers and in US by Dodd, Mead and Company in January 1940 under the title of And Then There Were None. The novel has also been published and filmed under the title Ten Little Indians. It is Christie's best-selling novel with 100 million sales to date, making it the world's best-selling mystery, according to the editors of Publications International, Ltd. The Plot Eight people of different social classes have been invited to go to a mansion on Soldier Island by a Mr. and Mrs. U.N. Owen. Upon arriving, they are told by the butler and his wife, Thomas and Ethel Rogers, that their hosts are currently away. Each guest finds in his or her room a slightly odd bit of bric-a-brac and a framed copy of the nursery rhyme "Ten Little Soldiers" ("Ten Little Niggers" in the original 1939 UK publication and "Ten Little Indians" in the 1940 US publication) hanging on the wall: Ten little Soldier boys went out to dine One choked his little self and then there were nine Nine Little Soldier boys sat up very late One overslept himself and then there were eight Eight little Soldier boys travelling in Devon One said he'd stay there and then there were seven Seven little Solider Boys chopping up sticks One chopped himself in half and then there were Six Six little Soldier Boys playing with a hive A bumblebee stung one and then there were five Five little Solider boys going in for law One got into Chancery and then there were four Four little Soldier boys going out to sea A red herring swallowed one and then there were three Three little Solider boys walking in the zoo A big bear hugged one and then there were two Two little Solider boys sitting in the sun One got all frizzled up and there there was one One little Soldier boy left all alone He went and hanged himself and then there were none (In some versions the seventeenth and eighteenth lines read Two little Soldier boys playing with a gun; / One shot the other and then there was One.) During a large dinner, the guests notice ten little figurines of soldiers on the dining room table. Later, while they are having a dinner, a gramaphone record is played, informing the ten that all of them are guilty of murder. All of the guests acknowledge their awareness and, in some cases, involvement in the deaths of the persons mentioned, while denying any malice or legal culpability: *Dr. Edward Armstrong operated and accidentally killed his patient, Louisa Clees, while drunk. *Emily Brent dismissed her maid Beatrice Taylor after she became pregnant, and the maid committed suicide by drowning herself. *William Blore committed perjury during the trial of an accused bank robber Stephen Landor, who died in the prison. *Vera Claythorne allowed Cyril Hamilton, a small boy in her care, to swim out to sea and drown. Cyril was first in line to inherit a vast legacy; the second was Vera's lover. *Phillip Lombard abandoned a party of twenty-one native retainers to die in the African bush. *General John Macarthur deliberately sent his wife's lover and his subordinate, Arthur Richmond, on a suicidal mission during World War I. *Anthony Marston accidentally ran over and killed two children, John and Lucy Combes, while driving recklessly. *Thomas and Ethel Rogers let their invalid employer Jennifer Brady die by withholding her medication in order to claim a large inheritance. *Justice Lawrence Wargrave gave the death penalty to accused murderer Edward Seton despite evidence supporting his innocence. The guests realize they have all been tricked into coming to the island, but now have no way to get back to the mainland, as the boat which regularly delivers supplies stops arriving. They are then murdered, one by one, with each murder paralleling a verse of the nursery rhyme, and one of the ten soldier figurines being removed after each murder. First to die is Anthony Marston, whose drink is poisoned with cyanide (one choked his little self). That night, Thomas Rogers notices that one soldier figurine is missing from the dining table. The next morning, Mrs. Rogers never wakes up, and is assumed to have received a fatal overdose of sleeping draught (one overslept himself). At lunchtime, General MacArthur, who had predicted that he would never leave the island alive, is found dead from a blow to the back of his head (one said he'd stay there) when Dr. Armstrong calls him to lunch. In growing panic, the survivors search the island for the murderer or possible hiding places, but find no one. Justice Wargrave establishes himself as a decisive leader of the group; he asserts that one of them must be the murderer and is playing a sadistic game with them; an example of the killer's twisted humor is that—with the exception of Wargrave—each of the "guests" has been invited to come to the Island by Mr/Mrs "U.N.Owen" (i.e. "UNknOWN"). Every time someone dies, a soldier figurine disappears. The next morning, Rogers is missing and they notice one of the little soldier figurines is missing as well. Rogers is soon found dead in the woodshed, having been struck in the head with a large axe (one chopped himself in halves). Later that day, while the others are in the drawing room, Emily Brent stays in the dining room and she dies from an injection of potassium cyanide—the injection mark on her neck is an allusion to a bee sting (a bumblebee stung one). The hypodermic needle is found outside, thrown from the window along with a smashed china soldier figurine. The five survivors—Dr. Armstrong, Justice Wargrave, Philip Lombard, Vera Claythorne, and Inspector Blore—become increasingly frightened. Wargrave announces that anything on the island that could be used as a weapon should be locked up, including Wargrave's sleeping pills and Armstrong's medical equipment; Lombard admits to bringing a revolver to the island, but it has gone missing. They decide to sit in the drawing room, with only one leaving at any one time—theoretically, they should all be safe that way. Vera, the one most wracked by guilt, goes up to her room and discovers a strand of seaweed planted there; her screams attract the attention of Blore, Lombard, and Armstrong, who rush to her aid. When they return to the drawing room, they find Wargrave, dressed up in a judge's wig and gown, slumped against a chair with a gunshot wound in his forehead (one got into Chancery); Armstrong confirms his death. That night, Blore hears someone sneaking out of the house. He searches the remaining rooms and discovers Armstrong missing from his room—so they think he must be the killer. Vera, Blore, and Lombard (whose revolver has since been returned to him) decide it best to go outside when morning arrives; when Blore's hunger later makes him go back into the house, he does not return; as Vera and Phillip does, they discover a body on the front lawn, his head crushed by Vera's marble, bear-shaped clock (a big bear hugged one). They assume that Armstrong has committed the murder and leave to walk along the shore. They find Armstrong's drowned body along the cliffs (a red herring swallowed one) and realize that they are the only two left; though neither could possibly have killed the Inspector, their mutual suspicion has driven them to the breaking point and each of them assumes the other to be the murderer. As they lift Armstrong's body out of reach of the water, Vera swipes Lombard's revolver, kills him on the beach (out in the sun; or, one shot the other), and returns to her room, discovering a noose hanging from the ceiling and a chair underneath it. Having finally been driven mad (or "hypnotically suggestible") by the experience and tormented by latent remorse for her crime, Vera hangs herself, kicking the chair out from under her, fulfilling the final verse of the rhyme (hanged himself and then there were none). Stage Adaption Agatha Christie made a few edits from the book to the stage adaption. Sshe realized that the novel's grim conclusion would not work dramatically on stage as there would be no one left to tell the tale, so she reworked the ending for Lombard and Vera to be innocent of the crimes of which they were accused, survive, and fall in love. Some of the names were also changed with General Macarthur becoming General McKenzie, probably due to the real-life General Douglas MacArthur who was playing a prominent role in the ongoing World War II. Cast Rogers - John Perry Agnes Narracot - Pat Stewart Mrs. Rogers - Elizabeth Prince Vera Claythorne - Joy Covey Captain Phillip Lombard - David Knight Anthony Marston - Barry Tinkler William Blore - Jon Haskell General John MacKenzie - James Wading Emily Brent - Anne Anderson Sir Lawrence Wargrave - Tony Makey Dr. Edward Armstrong - Jamie Griffiths Crew Director - John Covey Assissted by - Sue Knight and Pat Stewart Stage Manager - Ricky Davey Stage Crew - Gary Boniface, Mike Gearing, Alan Moss and Dave Humphrey Lighting - Kevin Lee Sound - Steve Simpson Props - Chris Moss Wardrobe - Joy Covey Set Design/Construction - John Covey, Ricky Davey and Mike Gearing Publicity - Micki Darbyshire Posters/Programs - Joy Covey and Tony Makey